fwed :)

Like any kid the little possum definitely seems to have a preference for the melon - eat the sweets first :)

Oh! What a nice female PawPaw tree that is with all that fruit - I only grow mine from seed so do not know if it is a male or female until they fruit - aesthetically the male plant looks better.

There is no use in buying a PawPaw tree as we get a couple of cold nights during winter and it does bad damage to the tree - from seed they seem more resilient.

toot, that was on Long Island, not far from where I live.

You are correct , never touch a bat. Only ones who should are those who have been vaccinated against lyssavirus.

"Only a very small proportion of flying fox or bats carry the virus  (about half a percent of all the bats) but unless you know what you are doing, and are pre vaccinated, it is like playing Russian Roulette if you handle these animals: In the same way that  not all snakes are deadly but it is highly recommended to avoid contact with snakes.

You cannot catch lyssavirus from being near a bat. You will only catch lyssavirus from a bite or a scratch. It is never a good idea to handle urine or faeces from any animal unless wearing gloves, but bat poo is not going to transmit lyssavirus.   If you don’t bats or touch flying fox, you have nothing to fear.

Uneducated persons who advocate shooting all the bats, or driving bat colonies away from the cities, do not realize that bats are an essential part of the Australian ecosystem. These animals work hard for us pollinating the forests of eucalyptus and melaleuca trees, and eating insects. Countries that have destroyed their bat populations need to spend a great deal of money and chemicals to do the job that the bats do for us – for nothing. Bats only need to be left alone to do their job." Source

People who urge others to hunt the animals away could be contributing to the disease as stressed bats are more prone to catch lyssavirus.

I agree Fwed, most animals have an important role to play in the environment and the fight to remove the bats from the Sydney Botanic Gardens was long and fierce.  There was a huge stink about it, people were worried about their welfare, but after a long fight, permission was finally given by state and federal governments to go ahead.  A mix of loud sounds like banging saucepans, industrial noises, whistles etc were blasted from loud speakers just before dawn every day and two weeks later they were gone. The government said it was a humane program that will give the gardens a chance to recover but many people are still angry about it.